Illamasqua Paranormal

I’m sure most beauty bloggers would agree that very few inbox arrivals are as exciting as the announcement that Illamasqua are about to launch a new collection. Illamasqua are famed for making edgy wearable whilst constantly pushing the boundaries of what we perceive as beautiful. Paranormal is a stonker of a collection that, as expected from Illamasqua, completely goes against what’s typically anticipated of Spring/Summer offerings, and is instead full of dirgy neons, ethereal purples and not a stereotypical pastel in sight. Here’s a closer look at Illamasqua Paranormal:

Lipstick in ESP and Posture

The two lipsticks in the collection both have a matte finish and are both shades of purple. ESP is a deep violet, whereas Posture, pictured above, is an extremely cool mauve shade. It seems every recent Illamasqua collection contains a lipstick wildcard – a shade that about 3 people would look amazing in whilst the rest of just wish we could – and for Paranormal I’d say the Posture shade is that…view exhibit A:

Anyway…

UV Glow Nail Varnishes

There are four new shades of nail varnishes and all of them come with a twist; they glow under UV light and they look frickin’ awesome. There are four shades in total: Seance (violet), Ouija (pink), Omen (green) and finally Geist which is a clear shade that can either be used on bare nails or over other shades in your collection to turn them UV. All shades are brilliantly bright, and my favourite from the collection is Ouija (above with Geist) which is such a beautiful pink that I can’t wait to swatch! Check out Grace’s swatches of all four shades.

Hydra Veil

This stuff is absolutely mental. It’s a primer/moisture-booster hybrid that comes in a gel formula and has the weirdest texture which is kind of like jelly if you were to stab at it as it sets…I have no idea where that came from but it makes sense to me. It’s a really effective primer and it hydrates areas of dryness/flakiness really well. My skin is intensely dry at the moment and this doesn’t play well with that, so I’m not sure this would work too well on really dry skins without a good splash of moisturiser first, but as a primer it gives skin a really smooth, clean surface allowing make-up to sit comfortably for hours. Special shout-out has to be given for the enclosed spatula which keeps the product tidy and hygienic.

Paranormal Palette

I’ve saved the best ’til last as I absolutely adore this palette full of, at first glance quite intimidating shades, that are actually wearable, pretty and I believe contain at least one shade that everyone will love. Add to that the formula which is a kind of spongy, matte cream that contains sparkle (only Illamasqua would be able to create a palette containing such a contrast!) that blends and spreads like a dream and you have yourself a winner.

From left to right: Paranormal, Aura, Possession and Trance.

The four shades included are Paranormal (pink), Aura (orange), Trance (purple) and Possession (green). Paranormal and Aura are my favourites – who knew pink eyeshadow could be so wearable? – and Aura is gentle enough for daily wear. Just so beautiful!

The full Illamasqua Collection is available now, with prices starting at £13 for the Geist shade of nail varnish. Other elements of the collection include two more shades of Gleam – a highlighter cream, a gel liner and an accompanying brush. More more info on the whole collection, head here.